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I must say this first and foremost, before starting any fast or diet plan, please consult your physician. Okay, now that I have that out of the way; fasting is a great way to jumpstart a diet plan, remove waste and toxins from your system, and transition to a meat-free vegetarian lifestyle.

Cleansing your body of all the waste that processed foods and meat leaves behind in your system before becoming vegetarian or starting healthier eating habits will help your body reap the benefits of a healthier change in diet.

Fasting is one of those ways of cleansing your body. Don’t be afraid of the word "fast" because there is a gradual non-evasive way of fasting that you can start and complete in less than 10 days.

After you have successfully completed a fast, you will want to keep you body as healthy as possible. One way of doing this is to adopt a vegetarian diet and make sure you use a diverse range of vegetarian meal plans and recipes to help nourish your body and support your health.

Let’s try an easy 6 Day Fasting Program

1st Day – During the first day of your fast, you need to eliminate all meat (a big no-no – even fish and chicken) caffeine, alcohol, junk food (you know, chocolate, sweets, chips and dip, soda…the usual suspects) and drink a lot of water.; at least 64 oz of water a day.

2nd Day – Since the junk food is gone, now you need to stop eating canned, frozen, and other processed foods. No canned or frozen vegetables or fruits; only the natural and fresh stuff. No canned beans either. If want to eat beans, use the dried beans that usually come in a bag or that you can buy in bulk.

3rd Day – Now that the meat, junk and processed foods have been removed from your diet, now you will stop eating all animal products such as eggs, cheese, yogurt, and animal milk. It is still okay to consume soy based products such as soy milk and soy yogurt.

4th Day – On this day, you will need to exclude all grains and legumes from your diet. This means beans, bread, rice cereal, oatmeal, couscous, and any other grain and bean family members (don’t worry; this is not a permanent elimination). You will be able to enjoy these healthy and delicious foods once again. I promise. Remember, drink a lot of water to facilitate the fasting and cleansing process.

5th Day – Remember this is a fast, so we must eventually eliminate all foods, no matter how healthy they are for us, so that our body can naturally cleanse itself. You will need to stop eating the ever so healthy vegetables. At this stage of your fast, almost all foods have been "banned" from your diet except for fruit. Feel free to enjoy all the fresh, sweet, and juicy fruit your little heart desires on this day. Fruit is the last food to be removed from your diet because fruit is mother nature’s natural cleanser and is full of fiber that helps keep your body’s digestive system performing at optimal levels and helps removes waste that other foods leave behind.

6th Day – This is judgement day. You should not be eating any foods at all. Not one drop of food should be hitting your lips. It doesn’t matter how healthy the food may be for you. You should only be drinking water and fresh vegetable and fruit juices. When I say fresh vegetable and fruit juice, I mean the real stuff. You may need to dust off the juicer and use fresh and pesticide-free fruits and vegetables to make your own juices at home. This way, you know that the juices you are drinking are not loaded with sugar and sodium and you can feel great about drinking your fresh juices knowing that you are not reversing your fasting efforts.

If you don’t have a juicer, that is okay, try to purchase juices that don’t have any added sugars and are organic. Try not to drink too much of the bottled juices during the fast. You will need to continue this fresh juice and water fast for another three to five days. How long you continue this fast is totally up to you. I would suggest not fasting any more than five days.

You will not be living off fresh juice and water for the rest of your life. After you have completed your fast, you will need to start incorporating healthy foods into your diet, day by day, the correct way, so that you are not "shocking" your body with food.

Ebony Johnson is a vegetarian cooking enthusiast and the host of Beyond the Garden, the vegetarian cooking experience that explores healthy and tasty vegetarian and vegan cuisines. Visit http://www.mybeyondthegardentv.com/easyveggiemealplan.php to receive free access to monthly vegetarian & vegan cooking shows Her recipes are full of tips & entertainment guaranteed to have you cooking healthy & tasty vegetarian meals to satisfy any palette.

Article Source: ArticleSpan

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